Teaching Awards & Student Evaluations

Teaching Awards

During my teaching experience at Caltech, I was awarded the following prizes and awards for my work in the classroom and beyond:

Associated Students of California Institute of Technology (ASCIT)'s Award for Excellence in Teaching 2018
The ASCIT Award for Excellence in Teaching is awarded to 4 professors and 4 teaching assistants each year across all academic disciplines at Caltech, and I was conferred this award for the 2017-2018 academic year. The award is exclusively managed by the student body, including both the nomination and selection process. The awardees are honored at a special banquet ceremony with a citation, and the students who nominated the awardees share their experiences with those in attendance.

R. Bruce Stewart Prize for Excellence in Teaching 2019
The Stewart Prize is to be awarded to a graduate student teaching assistant who demonstrates, in the broadest sense, unusual ability, creativity, and innovation in undergraduate/graduate classroom or laboratory teaching of physics. The Department of Physics at Caltech administers this prize which was awarded to me for the 2018-2019 academic year. Nominations for the Stewart Prize may be made by any member of the Caltech community, including faculty, students, postdoctoral scholars, alumni, and staff. The awardee is conferred with a certificate and a $4000 cash prize at a special awards ceremony hosted by the department.

Caltech Innovation in Education Fund Award 2020
The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Outreach (CTLO) at Caltech awarded the Innovation in Education Fund Award in February 2020 to Prof. Frank Porter and me for supporting the release of our online course on "Vibrations & Waves" (http://www.waves.caltech.edu). The Caltech Innovation in Education Fund is designed to support Caltech faculty developing new courses, implementing innovative and evidence-based teaching methods, upgrading educational facilities, or pursuing other new academic activities.

Dean's List of Outstanding TAs
The Dean's Office at Caltech recognized me as an Outstanding TA for Fall 2019 based on student evaluations for my teaching of the sophomore/junior physics course on Vibrations & Waves. The recognition came along with a $20 Amazon gift card :)


Select Student Evaluations

Here are some select, however representative set of my student evaluations. If you would like to see an unabridged collection of all my reviews, please check out my Teaching Dossier.

  • Ashmeet is truly a blessing. His recitations were the perfect mix of extremely relevant derivations/etc and tangents (which were often also very helpful in either the calculations or the intuition). Ashmeet really focused on the intuition and thought-processes behind everything (which was fantastic in getting a feel for these pretty difficult ideas) but never lost focus on the nitty-gritty. He embodies everything good about Physics.


  • Thank you so much for putting so much effort into your recitation. I learned SO much and am that much more confident in my physics ability now. I've started liking physics much more now thanks to your recitation and way of explaining things. I've gained another foundational layer and want to now go back in time and take physics analytical freshman. Thank you for making this a great class and inspiring students like to continue taking physics!

  • Ashmeet is a blessing upon this Earth. Best TA I've ever had.

  • Honestly, Ashmeet is a god and carries the course. Give this man a medal.

  • Ashmeet is absolutely great, he carried me through this course! Provides great comments and answers to all the questions in a way that makes you think and get to the answer yourself, thus understanding the concepts behind the questions very well. He is also very helpful and always available outside of class/ Office Hours, sending additional information and ready to meet to explain anything that is needed to be explained.

  • Ashmeet is the best TA ever. His recitations are amazing, and I always enjoy attending them. He is clear and he does an amazing job of connecting concepts together and illuminating subtle insights. He displays concern for our learning and does an amazing job of making physics interesting and accessible.

  • Best TA I've ever had. Knew the material inside and out, could answer any question, gave helpful hints. He was one of the few people who taught me the material.

  • I switched into Ashmeet's section because Ashmeet is great! He really knows what he's talking about, is incredibly quick with the chalk, and is very happy to help. He explains confusing concepts well, and explains "old" concepts (perhaps ones you thought you knew well) using different phrases that make you think about them in new ways. He makes you see how everything is related.

  • Ashmeet is the greatest TA ever. Everything he presents in recitation really changes my perspective on physics. I still haven't forgotten the first recitation he held; it made me appreciate physics more! He's also very helpful and clear in his information, and he really understands physics on a spiritual level. 10/10 would recommend Ashmeet. His flipped sections were also pretty fun! I wish that I had gone to more of them because they really help with the quizzes too!